lesson 2 failure to function adequately

Question 1

failure to function definition

Answer 1

model by Rosenhan and Seligman, based on the fact that the person is unable to cope with day to day life such as having a job or interacting well with others because they are experiencing psychological distress and discomfort, will impact they personal, social and occupational life

Question 2

failure to function ao1

Answer 2

-if a person seeks psychological/psychiatric help they could be classed as suffering in some sense from psychological distress or discomfort
-to recognise they are not functioning adequately could be an indicator of abnormality
-in society there are expectations about how we should live our lives and if someone can not fulfil their obligations then this could be an indication that they are not functioning adequately
-psychologists use the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale to assess rates of social occupational and psychological functioning
-7 criteria that can help define mental abnormality, when several presented together at the same time the person could be classes as abnormal, the higher/lower the number of criteria the more/less abnormal they are, allows to think in terms of the degree someone is abnormal

Question 3

failure to function criteria

Answer 3

Suffering- a person might be psychologically or physically suffering because they have a psychological abnormality that is having a negative effect on them
Unpredictability and loss of control- an individuals behaviour may vary/show inconsistency and often be inappropriate
Maladaptiveness- holds the individual back from being able to fulfil aspirations in life eg. relationships, a job, prevents achievements, negative behaviours
Observer discomfort- when a person who sees the unspoken rules of social behaviour being broken by others and experience discomfort
Vividness and unconventionality- how an individual can behave differently depending on the situation
Irrationality and incomprehensibility- a person may act in a way that isn’t commonly understood or able to be justified
Violation of moral and ideal standards- when behaviour violates society ethical standards

Question 4

failure to function ao3

Answer 4

-abnormality is not always accompanied by disfunction, can have a psychological abnormality but still appear to lead a normal life without showing any of 7 criteria, some people might appear to not be functioning adequately at all but might be normal and just having a bad day
-7 criteria used are very difficult to measure analyse, model is subjective and lacks being scientific and objective, need to be cautious, also occasions when criteria should be adhered to because it would be the normal behaviour to display
-psychologists can accurately assess the degree of abnormality and how well patient is/isn’t coping with daily life, not coping well then can be concluded they’re not functioning adequately and therefore abnormal
-more than one criteria used ensures a conclusion can be drawn accurately about individuals degree of abnormality
-clear and easy to understand guideline, can easily be used just by observing someone, leads to safer society